Can a bank charge a non customer a fee to cash a check written on that bank and refuse to issue a receipt for that fee?

There is a similar question "Can a Bank Refuse to Cash Its Own Checks?" here on BankingQuestions.com, but this question goes deeper. Yes, the bank may charge a non-customer a fee to cash a check. Some bankers are of the opinion that reducing the face value of the check is wrongful dishonor. Some states, such as Texas, have had court cases that supported the fee being charged to a non-customer. To avoid the fee you may have to open an account or deposit the item at your own bank.

As to the receipt, unless there is some state requirement, its puzzling why a bank would have to provide one. At the same time, its puzzling why they wouldn't be able to provide a receipt in some form or another. Receipts for services aren't necessarily common because customers can see what happened in their accounts. In this case, you don't have an account, but having a receipt may allow you to recover that cost from the person who wrote you the check. At the very least the bank should have a fee schedule denoting the cost and could have provided you with that.

BankingQuestions.com is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers. Advertisers are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankingQuestions.com FREE by supporting our advertisers. When you see an ad for a product or service you may have an interest in, click through to learn more.